


There's No STAR WARS™ Reference for This

by CapGirlCanuck



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Crying, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter and Ned's hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Sort Of, Star Wars References, StarWarsBros, Tony isn't actually there but he's there, best friends day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapGirlCanuck/pseuds/CapGirlCanuck
Summary: Even when you feel alone and broken, a best friend will find you, let you cry, and maybe even make you smile.(Peter and Ned's reunion hug from Endgame. Written for National Best Friends Day 2020)
Relationships: Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	There's No STAR WARS™ Reference for This

**Author's Note:**

> I have wanted to write this little one-shot for ages, since about the third time I saw Endgame. And since today is Best Friends Day, it seemed like the perfect excuse. I was crying again today as I rewatched the scene.  
> Disclaimer: I have never seen the Star Wars movies, but I did my research for this one. 
> 
> As always, in honour of my best friends Caro and Ari. Love you!

Peter was alone in the crowd. Alone in his heart.

He let the steady flow of students carry him in through the doors, down the hall, until it opened up and the waves of people went in different directions, leaving him washed up in his own little space. All around him, people shouted and laughed and cried and yelled names and hugged.

But in the halls of Midtown Tech, Peter wanted to cry.

God knew it wasn’t the first time. He remembered after he’d lost Uncle Ben, how many classes he’d forced himself through, how many times only the numbers and formulas had pulled him through the day, until he got home to the apartment, and could fall across his bed and let everything blur.

Behind him someone yelled, “Tony! Dude!”

Peter choked, caught his breath.

 _No._ He clamped his teeth down on his bottom lip, forcing the pain into a wall, a dam to hold back the tears.

“Peter!”

Automatically, his head turned.

They hadn’t even been able to text until two days ago, the day the ‘back to school’ order came out. It had been several weeks since all the dusted people had been brought back, and the last great battle against Thanos had been waged, and Tony– And in the chaos, tracking each other down, then getting new phones and plans, which everyone else was also trying to do, had taken way too long.

Ned had sent a lot of OMGs and geeked out emojis, right off the top, but there was plenty of understanding there too.

_This is the weirdest. My mom has so much grey hair now, and she hugs me every time I’m in arm’s reach. My grandparents died, and I never got to say goodbye. And my cousin who was my age is married!!!! It’s freaky. It makes me really glad I don’t have any siblings who might have suddenly gotten older than me._

**Mr. Stark and Ms. Pepper have a daughter. Her name is Morgan. She’s almost five.**

**I saw her at the funeral.**

**She said her dad told her about me.**

_I guess you were pretty important to him._

**…**

**…**

**…**

_Sorry, did I say the wrong thing?_

_If it makes you feel better, you’re pretty important to me._

_You’re my best friend, and I’m really glad I didn’t have to live without you for five years._

_I’m glad we’re both alive._

**…**

**I wish I don’t know what I wish.**

_Me too._

_Was it really scary when that huge army showed up?_

**They were pretty much all there by the time Dr. Strange brought us through.**

_Dude, I wish I could have been in outer space. It would have been way cooler to turn into dust out there. Instead of just in the middle of a boring field trip._

_Way more terrifying._

**I wish it had never happened. The whole thing.**

_I can see why you’d say that._

Texting had been easier than trying to talk about everything that had happened, everything that had changed. 

But one thing hadn’t changed, and that was Ned himself. He looked exactly the same as Peter remembered, his round face creased in an almost disbelieving smile as he met Peter’s gaze.

“Ned!”

And Peter found he was smiling, laughing just a little as they came together, hands meeting in the familiar motions of the elaborate handshake they had developed years ago.

“Dude,” was all Ned could say.

Peter couldn’t say anything as his palm met Ned’s, Ned’s warm hand closing around his fingers.

He was real. Ned was real. In the middle of that river of people, Peter had someone to hold onto. He wasn’t alone. And the tears came.

They didn’t finish that handshake; at least, not then. Instead Peter dropped Ned’s hand, wrapping his arms around his best friend’s neck, and burying his face in Ned’s shoulder.

He was crying, trying to keep it quiet, keep it under control, but then Ned was hugging him back, and Ned was crying too, his shoulders shaking under Peter’s grip.

Ned was warm and solid and real, and Peter clung to him. The grief, the pain, the joy, the comfort welled up inside him, pressing against the back of his throat and making it hard to breathe through the tears.

Peter couldn’t speak. But he knew that was okay. Ned understood, and he understood Ned.

It wasn’t more than a couple minutes before Peter’s sobs subsided, and he was able to dry his face on Ned’s shirt, feeling Ned do the same.

He felt Ned patting his back as he sniffled himself quiet, heaving a long sigh against Ned’s shoulder. He closed his eyes for a moment, listened to Ned’s steady heartbeat.

When they both stepped back from the hug (they hadn’t hugged like that since Ben’s funeral), they silently finished the handshake: a last fist bump, and the finger guns.

When their hands dropped to their sides, they stood for a long moment, just looking at each other. Before Ned lightly punched him in the arm. “Dude. Let’s go find our lockers. They gave us the same ones.”

They turned and started walking, shoulders bumping together, as they made their way through the crowd. With the chatter around them as a cover, Peter found he could say it.

“I just… I miss him.”

He felt Ned’s glance.

“He was like a dad to you, right?”

Peter could only answer with a nod, swallowing back the ache, before he stopped in front of his locker, checked the combination he had written on his hand from the email that morning.

“‘No _. I_ am your father,’” he heard Ned whisper under his breath.

Something cracked just a little inside Peter, and he turned, feeling his lips tremble as he stared at his friend. “No. There’s no Star Wars reference for this.”

Ned blinked at the edge in Peter’s tone, before the surprise softened to understanding. He reached to put his hand on Peter’s shoulder, the touch instantly grounding Peter once more.

“Peter, we’re home.”

And Peter couldn’t help it: he smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope I did okay with that! I am really very fond of the StarWarsBros and hope to have more fun with them in the future.  
> If you want updates from me, go to my profile and hit subscribe there.  
> Kudos+comments make me smile!


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